For over 60 years, Southwestern Energy Company has focused on exploring for and producing natural gas in the United States. Today, natural gas exploration and development is the centerpiece of our business strategy and constitutes the core strength of our enterprise, making up approximately 95% of our year-end 2006 hydrocarbon reserves. Among all fossil fuels, natural gas is the cleanest burning and the most economical fuel in terms of cost per British thermal unit (Btu) delivered to the end-user.

A cleaner fuel for a cleaner environment
Natural gas is the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels. When combined with the proper amount of air, the by-products of combustion are simply carbon dioxide and water vapor, the same products exhaled by humans when we breathe. According to the Energy Information Administration, generating one Btu of energy by burning natural gas produces 45% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than coal, 40% fewer than wood, 33% fewer than residual fuel oil, 25% fewer than distillates, and 16% fewer than propane.

The most economical source of energy available today
According to the American Gas Association (AGA), nearly one-fourth of all the energy used in the United States comes from natural gas. In addition to being the cleanest of all fossil fuels, no other fuel source delivered as much energy for the same cost as natural gas. Part of the reason natural gas is so economical is because of its efficiency. A study commissioned by the AGA found that natural gas is over 90% efficient in terms of energy delivered to end users after accounting for extraction, processing, transportation, distribution and conversion, compared to only 27% for electricity.

Homegrown in the USA
Unlike crude oil, the North American natural gas market is primarily a domestic one. According to the AGA, in 2005 over 84% of the natural gas consumed in the United States was produced domestically, with the balance mostly coming from Canada and imports of liquefied natural gas. Our operations are all conducted onshore in the United States and all of our gas production is sold to domestic users, making our product one of the many that proudly bears the description "Made in the USA."

Sources:

Energy Information Administration: "Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program," web site: http://www.eia.doe.gov

American Gas Association: "Overview of the U.S. Natural Gas Industry," web site: http://www.aga.org

American Gas Association: "Source Energy and Emission Factors for Residential Energy Consumption," August 2000